Association of the PGC-1α rs8192678 variant with microalbuminuria in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PPAR-γ co-activator-1α (PGC-1α) is a tissue-specific transcriptional co-activator involved in the regulation of antioxidant enzymes. The A-allele of the rs8192678 PGC-1 α} (G>A) gene variant has previously been associated with nephropathy in Korean and Indian-Asian type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) samples. Our aim was to examine the association between this variant and urine albumin exccretion in European subjects with T2DM. Genotyping was performed on 583 European subjects with T2DM and examined in relation to urinary albumin, plasma oxidized-LDL and small dense-LDL percentage. We observed a significant association between genotype (GG/GA/AA) and urinary albumin (normoalbuminuria v micro/macroalbuminuria: 48.6/39.7/11.7% v 38.2/51.2/10.5%, p=0.02; for GG v GA/AA, p=0.01). The odds ratio for micro/macroalbuminuria in GA and AA subjects relative to GG were 1.70 [1.15-2.50], p=0.008 and 1.20 [0.66-2.16], p=0.56 respectively (for GA/AA v GG: 1.58 [95% CI: 1.09-2.27], p=0.02). There was a significant association between the A allele and a higher percentage of small dense-LDL particles (GG v GA v AA: 70.8 [58.01-81.06] % v 72.8 [56.18-81.19] % v 78.9 [67.16-85.33] %, p=0.03). In European subjects with T2DM the GA relative to the GG genotype is associated with a 70% increase in the risk of micro/microalbuminuria. Furthermore, homozygosity for the A-allele is also associated with a preponderance of small dense-LDL particles.

Association of the adiponectin rs266729 C>G variant and coronary heart disease in the low risk 'Golden Years' type 1 diabetes cohort.

The C-allele of rs266729 is associated with CHD, while the G-allele of rs17300539 is associated with metabolic traits. We examined these in type 1 diabetes. For rs266729, the C-allele was associated with 8-fold increase in CHD. For rs17300539, the G-allele was associated with increases in triglycerides and waist circumference.

The influence of gene conversion on linkage disequilibrium around a selective sweep.

In a 2007 article, McVean studied the effect of recombination on linkage disequilibrium (LD) between two neutral loci located near a third locus that has undergone a selective sweep. The results demonstrated that two loci on the same side of a selected locus might show substantial LD, whereas the expected LD for two loci on opposite sides of a selected locus is zero. In this article, we extend McVean's model to include gene conversion. We show that one of the conclusions is strongly affected by gene conversion: when gene conversion is present, there may be substantial LD between two loci on opposite sides of a selective sweep.

Biodiversity consequences of alternative future land use scenarios in Greater Yellowstone.

Land use is rapidly expanding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, primarily from growth in the number of rural homes. There is a need to project possible future land use and assess impacts on nature reserves as a guide to future management. We assessed the potential biodiversity impacts of alternative future land use scenarios in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. An existing regression-based simulation model was used to project three alternative scenarios of future rural home development. The spatial patterns of forecasted development were then compared to several biodiversity response variables that included cover types, species habitats, and biodiversity indices. We identified the four biodiversity responses most at risk of exurban development, designed growth management policies to protect these areas, and tested their effectiveness in two alternative future scenarios. We found that the measured biodiversity responses, including riparian habitat, elk winter range, migration corridors, and eight other land cover, habitat, and biodiversity indices, are likely to undergo substantial conversion (between 5% and 40%) to exurban development by 2020. Future habitat conversion to exurban development outside the region's nature reserves is likely to impact wildlife populations within the reserves. Existing growth management policies will provide minimal protection to biodiversity in this region. We identified specific growth management policies, including incentives to cluster future growth near towns, that can protect "at risk" habitat types without limiting overall growth in housing.